Ukraine denounces that the latest attacks by Russia against its energy system put the country’s nuclear security at risk by deliberately targeting the power grid around nuclear power plants and thus causing emergency shutdowns with potentially catastrophic consequences.
Four nuclear reactors were disconnected from Ukraine’s power grid immediately after a massive Russian missile and drone attack on the power system on Monday, the targeted country told the IAEA.
Three reactors were temporarily disconnected at the Rivne nuclear power plant, located just 150 kilometres from Poland, while one reactor was shut down at the nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine.
Russia is deliberately trying to disrupt the operation of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, which are responsible for about 60% of the country’s electricity generation at the moment, and is creating a danger to their stable operation, Ukraine’s note to the IAEA said.
A nuclear accident
Monday’s attack could easily have caused a massive nuclear accident and all indications are that Russia is deliberately seeking it as part of its aggression against Ukraine in the context of its offensive in KurskUkrainian energy experts stressed to EFE.
“They are deliberately provoking an emergency situation. They want to provoke a nuclear accident and radioactive contamination of the territory.”Olga Kosharna, from the Anti-Crisis Center of Nuclear Experts of Ukraine, stressed to EFE.
According to her, Russia is fully aware of the risks posed by its latest attack.
Russia is not directly attacking the power grid of the stations, apparently in compliance with the Geneva Convention, which prohibits such attacks.
However, although nuclear power plants have built-in protection mechanisms for such cases, the damage they can suffer when large parts of the power grid are suddenly destroyed elsewhere is actually much greater.
The processes that are triggered then exceed the intended capacity of these reactors, Kosharna points out. A special valve is the only thing that prevents the catastrophic meltdown of nuclear fuel, with the resulting explosions and radioactive leaks.
On Monday, as on two previous occasions when Russian attacks created the same threat, in December 2022 and February 2023, the valves worked.
However, sooner or later, if the attacks are repeated, the valves can stop working, Kosharna warns.
Catastrophic consequences
What happens next may be something similar to what happened in Three Mile Island (USA) in 1979 and the disaster of Chernobyl In 1986, he explained to EFE Volodymyr Omelchenkoenergy expert of the Centro Razumkov de Kiev.
The expert describes the latest Russian attack as a “hybrid attack on nuclear power plants,” whose role in generating electricity has grown after Russia destroyed most of the country’s thermal and hydroelectric plants.
“They don’t just want to deactivate the stations, they want to create, and have already created, very high-level emergencies there.”he emphasizes.
According to Omelchenko, Ukraine’s energy system has so far managed to maintain its integrity and avoid the worst-case scenario.
However, if Russia continues its “hybrid attacks on power plants”, a “powerful nuclear accident” could occur along the EU border, triggering a mass exodus of population from the affected areas, he warned.
The international reaction
The reaction of the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, has so far been disappointing, the expert believes.
Your boss, Raphael Grossidoes not clearly recognize the threat to nuclear security posed by Russian attacks, while its recent visit to the Kursk nuclear power plant has been used by Russia to distract the international community from its actions in Ukraine, Omelchenko notes.
Grossi may be acting cautiously to avoid losing access to the nuclear power plant. Zaporizhiaoccupied by Russia, where IAEA delegates are gathering evidence of Russian wrongdoing, Kosharna notes.
Both experts stress that the West could do much more to sanction Rosatomthe Russian giant of the nuclear industry, which continues to supply fuel to numerous countries and has numerous contracts for the construction of nuclear power plants around the world. EFE (I)
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